Governor, 5 others die in chopper crash

A NAVY helicopter has crashed in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta, killing a state governor and five other people.

Ruling party officials said in a statement on Saturday the governor of the central Nigerian state of Kaduna, Patrick Yakowa, died in the helicopter crash in Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta.

The People's Democratic Party's statement described Yakowa's death as a "colossal loss".

The statement said the former national security adviser, General Andrew Azazi, also died in the crash.

Azazi was fired in June amid growing sectarian violence in Nigeria but maintained close ties with the government.

Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency, said four other bodies had been found but he could not immediately give their identities.

The crash occurred about 3.30pm after the navy helicopter took off from the village of Okoroba in Bayelsa state where officials had gathered to attend the burial of the father of a presidential aide, said Commodore Kabir Aliyu.

He said the helicopter was headed for Nigeria's oil capital of Port Harcourt when it crashed in the Nembe area of Bayelsa state.